Former Portuguese U21 international Rúben Vinagre looks set to return to the Premier League this summer after Frank Lampard’s Everton has pushed to secure the former Wolves left-back as the Toffees are desperate for senior squad reinforcements.
Per transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, Vinagre is on the cusp of an immediate reversal back to England after moving to Sporting CP earlier this summer in a €10m move from Wolves, with a loan move to Goodison Park now said to be imminent.
Vinagre, 23, is reportedly already on the blue half of Merseyside and set to undergo a medical ahead of his loan move for the 2022-23 Premier League campaign, with the Portuguese youth international said to be keen on the move with terms already agreed with Everton.
Everton can fall back on just one completed deal in the market this summer after securing England international James Tarkowski on a free transfer in the wake of the 29-year-old allowing his contract to run down after Burnley was relegated from the Premier League.
With the Toffees desperate to improve on a 2021-22 campaign that saw them finish sixteenth in the league and just four points clear of the relegation zone while boasting one of the worst defensive records in the Premier League, a loan move for Vinagre seems sensible despite the club purchasing Ukrainian international left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko last season.
A completed move for Vinagre looks set to come down to whether or not Everton and Sporting can agree on an acceptable option-to-buy clause in negotiations, however, with terms still yet to be finalized.
Certainly, Sporting are likely to want to recoup the amount they only recently shelled out for the left-back less than a month ago.
Given the club’s track record at making a handy profit when they do sell player assets abroad akin to rivals FC Porto and SL Benfica, it is likely that Everton - should they want to purchase Vinagre outright after what will hopefully be another successful loan for the player - will be made to spend well over the ~£8.4m it cost Sporting to temporarily bring him back to Portugal.
